GR ~ PC Hardware thread

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Pariah
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GR ~ PC Hardware thread

Post by Pariah »

evga x58 3 SLI motherboard [supports 3 way crossfire too] *purchased*

intel i7 920 D0 stepping newest batch i could find :D from what ive seen this batch overclocks 4GHz plus no problem... *purchased*

coolermaster cosmos s 1100 *purchased*

noctua NH-U12P SE cooler... *purchased*

corsair HX-1000 psu *purchased*

6GB corsair dominator TR3X6G1600C8D *no stock should be in next week*

only thing left really is picking a video card and hdd...

got any recommendations??

video card i was thinking of going 4890 to hold me over till the big bad dx11 cards drop..

and hdd i dont know which to go with...want one with good performance and something that is not a fucking loud cunt.. :lol:
Last edited by Pariah on 23 Aug 2010 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Yoshi Sonic »

ooh i'd go the 4890 for sure.
have you considered a small SSD for the OS?
envious much - i wish i was in a position to upgrade!
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Post by General Chaos »

Fuck man! What do you want to do? Run SF4 at 10,000 FPS?
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Post by Pariah »

Yoshi Sonic wrote:ooh i'd go the 4890 for sure.
have you considered a small SSD for the OS?
envious much - i wish i was in a position to upgrade!
i was thinking of going g.skill falcon ssd 128GB but im still not sure on the tech and how it will hold up in the long run... :?

so i might buy a 150GB velociraptor along with a 1TB drive till ssd matures..
Fuck man! What do you want to do? Run SF4 at 10,000 FPS?
gaming
rendering
hd encoding
and other shit

:up:

btw the cosmos s 1100 is sexy as hell...and huge :lol:
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Post by Froggy »

Hey this seems like a good thread to hijack for me lol. I want to build a media centre PC but I haven't put a computer together oohh since about 2001 so I have fuck all idea what is out there at the moment. Can you guys give me an idea what would be the best MB/CPU combo for this? Have any of you made one?? What did you put in yours etc?
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Post by lestat »

Pariah wrote:
Yoshi Sonic wrote:ooh i'd go the 4890 for sure.
have you considered a small SSD for the OS?
envious much - i wish i was in a position to upgrade!
i was thinking of going g.skill falcon ssd 128GB but im still not sure on the tech and how it will hold up in the long run... :?

so i might buy a 150GB velociraptor along with a 1TB drive till ssd matures..
SSD are great for lots of read only stuff, but will degrade over time if you write to it. The Flash memory has a limited write limit, as you hit those limits on memory segments, it just marks that block as bad and is forever dead. So effectively over time your hdd space shrinks as you write to it.

For a desktop, I don't see a lot of benefit in using SSD yet, you can get 10krpm drive that's plenty fast. I think SSD is a bit more beneficial for laptops, better power usage and the rotational limit laptop drives have SSD overcomes.

4890 is a winner, I'd grab one of those, although not sure when we'll see next gen dx11 cards, TMSC is having a lot of problems with 40nm which is pushing back AMD/Nvidia for their next gen parts. For instance the 4770 40nm ATI parts are practically impossible to find. Apparently yield is horrible (20%) and Global foundries which is spun off from AMD is looking to leap frog TMSC and go to 32/28nm nodes.

So I don't know if we'll see dx11 parts hit or if they do they'll be very low volume.
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Post by Talez »

lestat wrote:SSD are great for lots of read only stuff, but will degrade over time if you write to it. The Flash memory has a limited write limit, as you hit those limits on memory segments, it just marks that block as bad and is forever dead. So effectively over time your hdd space shrinks as you write to it.
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Post by Pariah »

well just an update on the build...picked up the 6GB of dominator ram...changed the cooler from the NH-U12P SE to the prolimatech megahalems along with a noctua NF-P12 120mm fan...

the dude said my order for the mb and cooler and fan should be shipped today but it still says processing... :( had a look and now the mb is out of stock and wont be in till 2/7...he did say they had put aside a mb for me..so i guess ill find out in the morning

as for the ssd i have read the performance of them degrade over time..but the new trim feature of win7 along with the proper firmware update for the drives should help out in this area...though i could just hold off on the ssd till win7 drops and hopefully by that time i get a better picture of how they perform over a long period with native windows trim support and the much more mature firmwares...

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Post by Pariah »

Froggy wrote:Hey this seems like a good thread to hijack for me lol. I want to build a media centre PC but I haven't put a computer together oohh since about 2001 so I have fuck all idea what is out there at the moment. Can you guys give me an idea what would be the best MB/CPU combo for this? Have any of you made one?? What did you put in yours etc?
imo...you should read up on the nv ion platform...it is said to handle high bitrate 1080p videos without problem...and along with the atom processor you can be sure the thing wont run hot as a cunt..

http://www.guru3d.com/article/nvidia-io" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... w-preview/

only thing is getting native x264 acceleration support...if they nv can do that or anyone can find a way to enable it...ill be happy to buy an ion for htpc use
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Post by mech »

Froggy wrote:Hey this seems like a good thread to hijack for me lol. I want to build a media centre PC but I haven't put a computer together oohh since about 2001 so I have fuck all idea what is out there at the moment. Can you guys give me an idea what would be the best MB/CPU combo for this? Have any of you made one?? What did you put in yours etc?
Mac-Mini all the way. Silent, fast, runs XBMC.
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Post by mxlegend99 »

That would be an extremely expensive way to go about doing it IMO. Could build a PC that does the same job for about half the price.
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Post by mech »

If you can get student/education discount, that chops 10% off the price.

And good luck building a PC that is anywhere near the size, speed and quietness of a mac mini. Yes, you can build an HTPC that will run everything and be reasonably small for half the cost, but it won't be able to match all those qualities, and it's not nearly as simple and elegant. 13W power consumption, 2Ghz Core 2 Duo, built-in IR, slot DVD-burner, 802.11n, gigabit ethernet and can run (non-hacked) OS X or any OS you like. And it's as big as a few CD cases. It's the perfect HTPC. The money you save on power consumption alone should help pay back a fair chunk of its initial cost - I worked it out that it should cost me about $300 a year less than my old server.
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Post by unfnknblvbl »

Pariah wrote:btw the cosmos s 1100 is sexy as hell...and huge :lol:
I have that. Easily the sexiest case I've come across, and I can't believe just how large it is either!
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Post by mech »

wtf, that is fuggo! This one right?

http://www.coolermaster.com/products/pr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... il&id=3947
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Post by mech »

btw refurbed mac mini is $799.

http://store.apple.com/au/product/FB139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... MjE0NDk5Mw

and a brand new one is $949 w/ student discount.
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Post by Pariah »

unfnknblvbl wrote:
Pariah wrote:btw the cosmos s 1100 is sexy as hell...and huge :lol:
I have that. Easily the sexiest case I've come across, and I can't believe just how large it is either!
yea its very nice...looks so much better in person..was not going to buy it till i saw it in person

btw i switched the motherboard to the evga x58 Classified...an extra 200 or so..top of the line evga x58 mb for the low low price of $655

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... 42982l.jpg

was worried about the heatsink not having enough space but found this picture seems be fine... :up: with the 25mm [w] noc fan it should be sweet..

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Post by mxlegend99 »

mech wrote:If you can get student/education discount, that chops 10% off the price.

And good luck building a PC that is anywhere near the size, speed and quietness of a mac mini. Yes, you can build an HTPC that will run everything and be reasonably small for half the cost, but it won't be able to match all those qualities, and it's not nearly as simple and elegant. 13W power consumption, 2Ghz Core 2 Duo, built-in IR, slot DVD-burner, 802.11n, gigabit ethernet and can run (non-hacked) OS X or any OS you like. And it's as big as a few CD cases. It's the perfect HTPC. The money you save on power consumption alone should help pay back a fair chunk of its initial cost - I worked it out that it should cost me about $300 a year less than my old server.
The machine only uses 13w while idle which would be great for usage as a server. Although the figures change while the machine is being used. Not sure about other people, but i would only ever have my HTPC turned on while i intend to use it. It might sit in idle for a couple of hours here and there... but for the most part i would turn the machine off when not in use. As for speed... wtf? You can EASILY build a PC that's much quicker, has more RAM, better video card etc. for half the price.

That said, it's still missing one thing that the perfect HTPC needs. A blu-ray drive. The best part of a HTPC is being able to use it as a region free blu-ray player. :up: I'm sure that you could use an external blu-ray drive, but then you have an add-on that's about the same size as the machine itself, possibly bigger. Making such a small machine pointless IMO.

That said it really depends on what needs you have from a HTPC. My HTPC was built primarily because i wanted to be able to play Region A blu-ray movies. I was looking at importing a US PS3, but found it was cheaper to build a HTPC.
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Post by mech »

Yeah, it still only uses something like 30-40W when it's under load, and if you've got something that uses so little power why wouldn't you leave it on? I have mine on 24/7 so I can stream stuff from it around the house via Xbox/PS3/360, and can stream stuff over the net from it via Simplify / VNC to it whenever I like. It also downloads stuff for me in off-peak and occasionally I'll use it to transcode stuff for me.

Also I didn't mean you could get a PC that fast, I said you can't get ALL those qualities, which is true from what I found when I was looking for a small HTPC. The smaller non-Apple HTPCs used Atom processors or VIAs or whatever, and the ones that used Core 2 were quite a bit larger.

If you're wanting it for Blu-Rays then there's not much point unless you're happy with the extra bulk of an external blu-ray drive and still want the quietness and low-power aspect of the mac-mini. I have my PS3 plugged into the same TV so for me it was a moot point. I then use the Mac-mini to play all my MKV files (including ones my PS3 couldn't play even with MKV2VOB).

But then I'm not saying Froggy or anyone else definitely _should_ get a mac-mini - I'm just saying there are reasons to get one despite its increased costs over a regular PC.
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Post by lestat »

mac mini is effectively a laptop pc motherboard shoved into a small box. So yeah you're gonna get that nice low power profile a laptop has. I'm sure you could add an external bluray usb drive? 9400m supports hdcp? That's the only thing that might hold you back from watching blurays unless you decrypt all of them.
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Post by mxlegend99 »

I wouldn't leave it on because there's no need for it to be running if i'm not using it. Which model did you get? The cheaper model only had a 120GB drive, which is completely useless for a server. The other model only had a 320GB drive also... can't see any point in trying to double one of these things up as a server.

Ok my mistake. You definitely can't build your own HTPC that would come in at that size, although you can meet the other qualities quiet easily. The size is the thing that limits what i want from it though. :P

I had a PS3 and a blu-ray player was still the most essential part of my HTPC. The second I placed my order for LOST: Season 3 on Blu-ray at Amazon, i needed a way to play Region A Blu-rays. Originally i was looking at buying a Region A PS3, or buying one of the Blu-ray players that could be chipped. But the cheapest way was a HTPC. I also don't have to worry about warranties. :)

If they had a sub $1000 model which had all the same features you've mentioned and replaced the DVD with a blu-ray drive and had HDMI output I would definitely consider buying one. That said it would probably be closer to $2000 for that machine.
lestat wrote:mac mini is effectively a laptop pc motherboard shoved into a small box. So yeah you're gonna get that nice low power profile a laptop has. I'm sure you could add an external bluray usb drive? 9400m supports hdcp? That's the only thing that might hold you back from watching blurays unless you decrypt all of them.
HDCP wouldn't be an issue for me regardless. Any machine of mine with a blu-ray player has AnyDVD HD installed on it.
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Post by mech »

I wouldn't leave it on because there's no need for it to be running if i'm not using it.
I have no idea why you brought this up again... I understand in your situation you don't have a reason to leave it on, but I detailed a whole list of reasons why people would like to leave theirs on.

Can you get a Core 2 Duo in an HTPC that is that quiet?

Also Mac-Mini supports HDMI out via its DVI port, I just use a DVI->HDMI cable.

I have no idea whether HDCP works on the 9400... you would _hope_ so, but who knows given OS X doesn't support HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. I have put windows on there but haven't tried running PowerDVD or anything on it yet - might do so, because it would be bloody nice to watch HD-DVDs without the noise of the 360! And thanks for the tip mx, I didn't realize anydvd HD would mitigate the HDCP problems, nice.

So the only difference you'd want is a Blu-Ray drive... again, the current model is $950 w/ student pricing, the old model refurbed is $799, pretty good if it meets your needs. If you're after a region free blu-ray player like you were then it's probably not the number one option.
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Post by mxlegend99 »

Don't you have a proper server though? How can you cope with such a small hard drive for sharing your files?

As far as OS X and Blu-ray/HD-DVD, aren't there any third party apps to play HD movies? They've been out for ages now, i would have thought that there would be some way possible to play them in OS X.
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Post by Froggy »

Fuck me thanks guys, very interesting with the pro's and con's, I didn't realise these ones existed, the Mac does sound good but I really think I want a blu ray drive, but I might investigate if there are going to be updates. Otherwise I might go the way mx says build one beefy fucker, i do like the idea of being able to upgrade my media centre not sure about upgrading that mac thing the ion is cool though i'd whack one of them in my kitchen!
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Post by mech »

mxlegend99 wrote:Don't you have a proper server though? How can you cope with such a small hard drive for sharing your files?

As far as OS X and Blu-ray/HD-DVD, aren't there any third party apps to play HD movies? They've been out for ages now, i would have thought that there would be some way possible to play them in OS X.
OS X has no 3rd party apps for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD playback. It's insane.

The mac mini IS my proper server now. I run two 750gb external drives off it which sit underneath my TV cabinet completely out of sight. It is amazing the difference - you literally cannot hear the mac-mini, the foxtel box is louder :lol:
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Post by MCWrang »

Pariah, I have just built myself a new computer which has very similar specs to what you're running:

- Cosmos S 1100
- i7 920
- Gigabyte Ex58 Extreme
- Antec Signature Series 850W (READ COMMENT BELOW!)
- NH-U12P SE Cooler (READ COMMENT BELOW!)
- Sapphire 4890
- 12GB Kingston HyperX (1600mhz)
- LG Bluray burner/HD-DVD player
- 2x 1TB Western Digital Black Caviar HDD's in RAID0

Now for anyone that wants to criticise me for being insane, haha... well I don't blame you, but I'm in the visual effects/3D animation industry, so it definitely helps to have a bit of grunt behind ya. I don't play a whole lot of PC games, but I bought Crysis to stress test my rig and it runs a dream on very high settings 1920x1200 (haven't even overclocked yet).

IMPORTANT NOTES!!
1. I went through 2 of those Corsair PSU's (admittedly the 850W one). Got them plugged in, had them running fine, until after a restart.... well it didn't restart, dead PSU. Had to return them both before deciding I'm going to stick with the brand name of PSU's, even if it meant shelling out a few more coins.

2. I hope that new CPU cooler works for you... While the one that I have is awesome, I completely didn't account for one major issue - the fat 120mm fan on the side of the Cosmos case. With the cooler fitted, you can't actually close the case coz the fan gets in the way of the CPU cooler. In the end I just had to remove the fan from the case. Fortunately, the temperatures inside didn't seem to suffer too much from it not being there (CPU is going sweet at 27 degrees, system temp is at 41 currently at idle).

Good luck with it, you'll be loving it when it's up.
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